


Another One Bites the Dust

by BoyGirlBothNoneImTheUniverse



Series: The Love Club [3]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst, Implied Sidney Crosby/Jonathan Toews, M/M, Other, Polyamory, Unrequited Love, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-18
Updated: 2014-02-18
Packaged: 2018-01-12 22:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1203256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoyGirlBothNoneImTheUniverse/pseuds/BoyGirlBothNoneImTheUniverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaner let's himself indulge in a pity session for a week after his talk with Crosby. He's not happy, he's not coming to terms, like he thought he would; wished he would. All he feels is shitty and heartbroken.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another One Bites the Dust

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, I can think of something new to write when it comes to this, but heaven forbid I finish any of my other stories. I'm a disappointment like that. 
> 
>  
> 
> ~~I'm on a rated T roll.~~

Kaner let's himself indulge in a pity session for a week after his talk with Crosby. He's not happy, he's not coming to terms, like he thought he would; wished he would. All he feels is shitty and heartbroken.

They start a road trip in three days and Kaner curses the fact that he doesn't have a plan for Ryan and Alex yet. He'd been so distracted by the Crosby drama that he hadn't yet given any thought to the two Canucks. Even worse, the Blackhawks' third game on the road is against the Canucks. If Kaner doesn't think of a plan in time, he'll be missing a perfect opportunity to get some happiness for Ryan.

Their first game is against the Oilers and their luck from last season hasn't changed. The Oilers play hard, Kaner will give them that, but it's an easy win, one that Kaner is proud to be done with. He happens to skate by Nugent-Hopkins when the kid knocks his stick against Kaner's skates. He raises his eyebrow, curious as to what exactly the kid thinks he's doing, when Nugent-Hopkins asks to talk to him after the post game scrum. Kaner agrees, fueled by curiosity and the chance of not having to deal with thinking up Jonny and Crosby's relationship plan.

Kaner briefly wonders if any of his teammates were getting particularly suspicious about him sneaking around in foreign arenas, but he shrugs it off. He's friends with Sam anyway and if anyone starts asking questions he can just say he's catching up with an old friend and leave it at that. He's gone to visit Sam in the Oiler's locker room before and vaguely remembers the path, so he heads out to see if he can catch Nugent-Hopkins on his way to see Kaner.

Kaner rounds a corner, just about to start a leisurely whistle, when he bumps right into his intended target. Nugent-Hopkins's hair is mused and wet from his shower and he blinks down at Kaner with owlish eyes.

"Oh, hey," he says nervously, shifting away from Kaner by taking a few steps back.

"Can I call you Nuge?" Kaner asks.

"Um, yes?" Nuge answers, his stance changing as he hunches slightly and puts his hands into his pockets.

"Cool," Kaner says awkwardly, contributing to the already heavy feeling in the air. "You wanted something?"

"Oh, yeah, you see, I know about the whole Losers in Love thing," Nuge starts explaining, pulling his hands out of his pockets to gesture wildly. "I was wondering what your policy was on, um, threesomes, or whatever they are called."

Kaner blinks and watches in muted fascination as Nuge's face gets pinker and pinker when Kaner doesn't immediately reply.

"You mean polyamory?" Kaner asks, a little proud of himself for watching that MTV True Life episode and still remembering the correct term.

"Yes!" Nuge nods, his hands doing this odd flipping motion. "So, policy?"

Kaner scrunches his nose up at the word and frowns. He barely had a grip on who might know, let alone what rules could possibly be put into place. "Love is love?" Kaner settles on after taking a moment to answer.

"Great! So, there's these two guys that have a thing and I want to be involved in the thing. Any advice?" Nuge asks, his excitement at a possible solution turning him into an overgrown puppy.

"Real descriptive there," Kaner says, amusement shining in his eyes. "Well, are they monogamous? Do they even know you're interested in guys?"

"I don't know and I don't know," Nuge says, frowning in thought. "I haven't seen them with anyone but each other and we've never really talked about it."

"Start there. Watch them at bars. Watch them around other people. See if they look at anyone in a particular way," Kaner suggests, bringing his hand up to tap at his chin. "Flirt with a guy in front of them? Be careful if you don't want to be found out. If you're not ready for the possibility of being outed, then be as careful as possible."

"Right," Nuge nods, his hands twitching by his sides. "Thanks, Kaner."

Kaner claps Nuge on the shoulder, because what else is he suppose to do? "If you have any questions you can always ask Ryan Kesler. He, uh, he's in the group too," Kaner pauses then, thinking, before asking, "Do you know anymore guys or girls that are in the club? I haven't actually gotten the full extent of how far this thing has gone and it'd be nice knowing who to expect to come up to me."

Nuge nods again, this time the nod is a slow and thoughtful one. "I heard about the club from Gabe and I'm pretty sure he heard about it from Talbot. Gabe mentioned Talbot keeping in touch with some of the players from both the Penguins and the Flyers, so maybe some of them?"

"Thanks," Kaner says, clapping Nuge on the shoulder once more. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," Nuge says cheerfully, his demeanor far more relaxed than he had been at the start of their conversation. He's obviously happy for the chance to be with whoever the two guys are. Kaner never considered the fact that maybe some of the guys and girls could be interested in more than one person. He halts at that thought and hums slightly. Maybe he could use this, he realizes, when it comes to Ryan and Alex.

"Good luck," Kaner says, and with another 'thank you' from Nuge, Kaner heads back toward the visitor's locker room, a plan slowly forming in his mind.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The game hasn't started yet, their pre-game skate still underway, when he spots Ryan whispering with Kevin Bieksa on the other side of the ice. Kaner hasn't crossed the line often, but he's seen Jonny on the Blues' side of the ice multiple times before games talking to T.J., so Kaner figures as long as he makes his visit short, nobody is going to have a cow.

He delicately skates over to where Ryan is, hesitantly enough so no one on the Canucks sees him as a possible threat. It wouldn't do any good to Patrick to get called out for coming over and getting into a fight with another player.

"Kaner," Ryan says in mild surprise, uncertainty coloring his voice. "Haven't talked to you in a while. What's up?"

Kaner glances as Bieksa, who's trying to stare into his soul, he might add, and very gingerly tells Ryan, "You know the thing, with Tyler? It's grown Like, way more than you last heard. Did Tyler get ahold of you?"

Ryan coughs and sends a side glance to Bieksa. Bieksa purses his lips, none to happy to be dismissed, but gives Ryan a warning look before skating off toward Luongo, who was blocking pucks in front of their net.

"Yeah," Ryan says, resting his weight onto his stick. "He told me about the Losers Find Love campaign you've started. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins actually got ahold of me early today. Asked me advice on poliemary?"

Kaner snorts and replies, "Polyamory."

"Probably why he couldn't find anything on the internet about it," Ryan grins, chuckling. "I got the gist of what he was talking about and tried to steer him with the advice you gave him. You realize he was talking about Eberle and Hall?"

Kaner shrugged. "Didn't figure it could've been anybody else."

"Peekaboo! You gossiping or what?" Sharpy says loudly, skating up to Kaner and Ryan with a flourish.

Kaner rolls his eyes and fist bumps Ryan, knocking him on his helmet. "We're leaving right after the game, but call me, okay? We need to talk."

Ryan nods and skates away, leaving Kaner alone to deal with Sharpy.

"When did you get so friendly with the enemy, Peeks?" Sharpy asks nonchalantly, eyes taking in their team around them.

"Since Sochi," Kaner replies like it's something that he's always done. He hasn't had anyone on his team figuring out about the stupid club he somehow started and he isn't going to have Sharpy of all people be the first one to know.

"Huh," Sharpy hums in reply, finally looking at Kaner. His face is hard to read but there's questions in his eyes that Kaner can't deal with at the moment.

"Sharpy, Kaner, stop standing around," Jonny snaps from across the ice.

"Sure thing, Cap!" Sharpy shouts, hitting Kaner on the arm before skating off. Kaner doesn't move for a moment, making charged eye contact with Jonny, before he slowly skates after Sharpy, a solid feeling in the pit of his stomach making him queasy with uncertainty.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It goes to a shootout and they win, though not without trouble. Bieksa went after Kaner a couple times, something Kaner felt totally pissed about, and Kaner was left with a bruised side and an aching shoulder. He won't miss any games, but it's still tender and his mood is quickly starting to match it.

Kaner sat by one of the windows, looking out along the runway, when Seabs leans over the seat in front of him and pokes at his hair.

"Didn't know about you and Kesler," he says as soon as Kaner takes out his headphones.

"Sharpy says you guys are bff's," Duncs says from behind Kaner, taking Seabs's poke as an okay to poke the back of Kaner's head.

"I only speak the truth," Sharpy butts in from across the aisle.

"We bonded in Sochi," Kaner says sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"What kind of bonding?" Duncs asks, his eyebrow raised. Seabs wiggles his eyebrows, suggestion quite clear. Before Kaner can rebuff any and all comments, his phone rings, Ryan's ringtone faintly playing from his pocket.

Sharpy jumps across the aisle to grab at it, reaching in and taking it out of Kaner's pocket. "Ry Ry?" he asks, so shocked his eyes widen slightly.

Kaner takes his phone back because the last time it was taken from him was when this whole mess started. "Hey Ryan," Kaner says as a way of greeting, shoving Sharpy's face away from his as he attempts to listen in.

"Kaner," Ryan says, a slight tilt of indifference in his voice. Kaner knows the loss must have been hard for the Canucks and that Ryan would just get angry if Kaner tried to console him, so he pretends like he doesn't catch it.

"So, I think I have an answer to, you know, our problem," Kaner says, trying his best to word it carefully. He knows he has three of his teammates' attention and he wouldn't doubt that there could be more. "Remember that word you mentioned?"

"Polyamory?" Ryan asks, his voice coming through the phone's speakers a little too loudly.

Kaner rolls his eyes at the choking sound Sharpy let's out and replies, "Teammates can be dumb, can't they?" He knows Ryan will take it for the warning that it is and continues, "But, yes. How's your relationship with her?"

"I've been talking to her a lot," Ryan says, a slight pout coming through his words. "She's basically fantastic and it sucks."

"And him?"

"He keeps wanting us to hang out together; wants me to know Lexi," Ryan replies, bitterness intertwined with her name.

"How about you do just that," Kanre says smoothly, his voice tilting into a suggestive tone.

"What? Why?"

"You already think she's fantastic. You once told me she was almost a female, um, you know," Kaner pauses, avoiding Alex's name. "You're not entitled to just one."

"Are you suggesting I try going out with both of them?" Ryan asks, skeptical.

"You already like him. You know our little friend thinks it can work. Why not give it the old college try?"

"I played in Ohio, Kaner. There was no trying," Ryan said moodily before going on. "Sure, I guess. She's cute in an Alex type of way."

"See, you're already half way there," Kaner says with a grin.

"Don't quote Spongebob at me, you loser," Ryan replies before hanging up in a hurry.

"Love you too," Kaner says to the dial tone, apprehension filling him. He wants, no, needs Ryan to be happy and he thinks it's a good possibility that Ryan could find that happiness is more than one person.

Seabs looks behind him, sharing a look with Duncs, before he turns around to sit down in his seat. He can hear shuffling behind him and knows that Duncs has just done the exact same thing. Sharpy stays beside him though, staring down at his phone with a glazed stare.

"You feeling okay, Sharpy?" Kaner asks, tucking his phone away.

"Don't get hurt, Pat," is what he says before he moves back to his seat across the aisle.

Kaner thinks on those words the whole way back to Chicago.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaner wakes up early on a day off, two weeks after his conversation with Ryan. His phone is repeatedly ringing next to his head, a constant sound that's slowly driving Kaner up the wall. He groans and turns on his side to clumsily grasp at it, tugging it toward him with an angry growl.

He sees he has seventeen texts and whines slightly, wondering what the fuck was going on. He opens the first text only to have a laugh startled out of him.

Ryan is grinning, a smile similar to the one Kaner's seen on Tyler's face recently, and his face is smashed up against Burrows'. There's a girl with her head below theirs and she's tilted to the side, her lips kissing Ryan's chin in an innocent gesture. He goes through the other messages and finds one with just Ryan and Alex, one with Alex and the girl, Lexi, he recalls, and then one with Ryan and Lexi.

The other thirteen messages begin with Ryan panicking, telling Kaner that Alex and Lexi called him to talk about something. Various panicked sentences later and a single, 'Oh my God', is the last thing before Kaner got the cute pictures of them all together.

He figures that he gets to interrupt whatever Ryan's doing, half-heartedly wondering if he's already getting some, but calling anyway.

"Kaner!" Ryan shouts happily, his voice soft and stronger than he's ever heard.

"You getting any?" Kaner asks, laughing when Ryan chokes slightly.

"It's not any of... Oh, um, Lexi and Alex say hi," Ryan says, his put out attitude turning into an embarrassed mumble. "Hey, wh-"

"Patrick Kane?" a feminine voice asks, just as happy and strong as Ryan's voice sounded.

"Yes, mam?" Kaner asks, sitting up in his bed.

"Thank you," she says. "Thank you for taking care of Ryan. Thank you for helping him find us." Her words are so sincere, so heartfelt, that Kaner's surprised he isn't tearing up.

"I want him to be happy, you know?" Kaner says, his voice covered in a dream like glaze. "Everyone deserves to find happiness somewhere."

Lexi hums, a thoughtful sound, before Ryan is put back on the line, apologizing for Lexi's interruption. He whines when there's thumping sound on the other line, asking Alex why he hit him. They bicker back and forth, Kaner listening in on it silently, just letting their teasing banter fill him with hope.

Ryan eventually says goodbye, Alex and Lexi talking over him in the background, and Kaner is left in the silence of an early Wednesday morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Lexi is in no way based on anyone and I don't even know what I think she looks like. Ryan calls her 'cute in an Alex way' so probably kind of like him? Dark hair and all that gloriously cute shit. I don't know who's getting it next, but hell, Kaner's still alone. 
> 
> Jonny keeps avoiding me and I'm upset because boy you are an important part of this story and if you keep avoiding me then I'll get nowhere. Stupid Canadian. 
> 
> btw still fuckyoucanada on tumblr. I'm currently having a crisis over American hockey players, so come on down.


End file.
